Pakistan announced plans earlier this week to meet the growing energy needs of the nation’s growing population through exploitation of its own natural resources. Water and power ministry officials revealed plans to work with Chinese companies and their partners in order to build up to a dozen coal fired power plants over the course of the next 15 years. The coal plants are just one part of a larger plan according to the former federal secretary for water and power Mohammed Younus Dagha.
Dagha who was made the commerce secretary earlier this year detailed a $54 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor. This includes about $33 billion which is to be spent on 19 energy projects. The projects include coal-fired plants, renewable energy power plants, and much need upgrades and extensions to the country’s transmission lines and other infrastructure. According to Dagha the hope is that through this project Pakistan will be able to rapidly increase it’s power generation capabilities by as much as 6000 megawatts (MW) within two years.
The eventual goal of the project is to generate an additional 16,000 MW of power. Environmentalists are concerned due to the fact that approximately 75% of this power will come from the planned coal-powered plants. However, the Pakistani government insists the plants using coal will utilize the latest technology reducing emissions to have the lowest possible environmental impact. Despite these protections environmentalists remain concerned and point out this plan will substantially increase Pakistan’s carbon emissions.
That unpleasant result appears to be inevitable as Pakistan faces the harsh realities of its growing energy needs. The fact is that according to the World Bank only around 2/3s of Pakistan’s approximately 190 million people have access to electricity, yet the country still has an energy deficit. The average energy demand is in the area of 19,000 MW and the country is only currently generating 15,000 MW leaving a deficit of 4,000 MW. This situation is aggravated in the hottest part of the year from May-July when air conditioning requirements push the country’s power demands to over 20,000 MW.
Worse yet, the shortfall is projected to substantially worsen within the next decade. The International Energy Agency projects Pakistan’s energy requirements will rise along with its population to 49,000 MW by 2025. According to a 2013 World Bank report on South Asian infrastructure Pakistan needs to invest between 3.7%-5.5% of its GDP each year toward increasing electrical production.
The use of coal to meet Pakistan’s energy needs is logical given the country’s southern region has some of the world’s largest untapped coal reserves. There are an estimated 175 billion tons under the desert region of Tharparkar. Making use of these reserves will provide a solution to the country’s energy deficit for several decades while creating new jobs and stimulating economic activity.
In order to reduce the environmental impact of these new coal plants “supercritical” emission-reducing technology will be employed at the sites. The federal minister for planning,development and reform, Ahsan Iqbal states the new plants will be as clean as gas-based power generation. Iqbal added “(They) require less coal per megawatt-hour, leading to lower emissions, including carbon dioxide and mercury, higher efficiency and lower fuel costs per megawatt.”
